The latest Legislative Task Force on Child Protection meeting on October 13, 2015, featured a presentation by several tribal child welfare leaders, representing the recommendations of 11 Tribal Nations in Minnesota. Ted Waukey, Family Preservation Supervisor with Mille Lacs Family Services, began with a historical overview of federal policy that adversely affected American Indians, pushing them Westward from the East Coast, and removing many American Indian children from their families and tribes to be placed in white homes or boarding schools. These actions have resulted in multiple generations’ worth of trauma; a complex level of trauma that is shared by Indian nations. Waukey described the meaning of an Ojibwe word Abinoojii as “the child is a sacred being” or “sacred spirit” and “is never harshly disciplined.” Waukey said that they have lost their way of caring for their children and would like to reclaim it.
Candy Lagou, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Advocate with Red Lake Family and Children’s Services, shared that she was in foster care her whole childhood and aged out of the system from a white family home. She was in care prior to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, but now trains workers on ICWA provisions in the county where she was raised.
In 1985, the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) went into effect, strengthening ICWA provisions in Minnesota and requiring that tribes be notified when American Indian children are involved in the state child welfare system. It also created the American Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council , which advises the Department of Human Services (DHS) on child protection policies and practices that affect American Indian children, and make recommendations for improving the response to American Indian children in the child welfare system.
Ms. Lagou continued that many tribes do not consider Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) as an option in their child welfare practice. The tribes in Minnesota have different perspectives on TPR, but in general they try to dissuade the county from using TPR, instead aiming to maintain at least some family contact through kinship care. She reiterated that the needs of the children come first and that they understand that if a child is in imminent danger he or she should be taken to a safe place, but tribes would like to be consulted on further placement decisions. She implored that until ICWA is followed, American Indian children will continue to be placed in foster care at a higher rate and their unique needs to preserve their cultural identity will not be respected.
Preventing out of home placement is the goal, and Ms. Lagou said that they would like to see services offered to families who are generally screened out repeatedly until the situation escalates and removal is necessary.
A list of recommendations from the Indian Child Welfare Advisory Council was presented by the tribal representatives, which also included Laurie York, White Earth Indian Child Welfare, and Lorraine White, Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center.
Senator Sheran observed that many of the recommendations are already in law, so lack of compliance is the problem. Task force members interrupted the reading of the recommendations with many clarifying questions. Tribal representatives reiterated throughout their presentation that they would like to see consistent practice across the state with American Indian children in the child welfare system that is in compliance with ICWA and MIFPA. Overall, these recommendations request that tribal officials be consulted each time an American Indian child is reported to the county for abuse or neglect. They would like to work in partnership throughout the case to ensure that the child’s unique cultural needs, particularly around out of home placement, are being honored and considered.
Further recommendations include adding the ICWA Checklist into SSIS (Social Services Information System) for use by child protection workers, allowing Tribes full access to SSIS in cases involving American Indian children, and providing additional funding to tribes for child protection services.
Representative Kresha stated that the Task Force’s priority right now is ensuring that the deliverables required by legislation are completed and delivered by the stated deadlines. Senator Hayden responded that he’s confident that the reports will be completed and that we should not lose sight of the disparities that are being reported by these tribal representatives, and take it all on now.
Additional background information was provided by the tribal leaders, and is available on the Legislative Task Force on Child Protection’s website under meeting materials for October 13, 2015. The next task force meeting will take place on October 27, 2015. We will continue to attend these task force and work group meetings and provide information on the work being done.